


A Red Rose's Meaning

by vyingvails



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: I have no idea how long this will be, M/M, a commercial gave me the idea, but we'll see, floral shop AU, flower shop au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-07-13 17:36:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16022711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vyingvails/pseuds/vyingvails
Summary: Roman Perulta owns the flourishing business called 'Garden of Creativity', where they sell anything from flowers to succulents to jewelry made from other local businesses. The days can get repetitive, but with employees and friends to help keep them lively, Roman has no problem making every day a fun one.Although, things get twisted when a customer by the name of Logan Santiago steps into Roman's shop and has trouble finding a rose. Roman instantly falls hard for his shy personality and nerd-like aesthetic, but there's just a small problem that may or may not be an actual problem. We don't know yet.





	1. roman is a dumb fuck

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this on tumblr under the name romanochez so don't accuse me of stealing pls thanks

Roman sighed as he flipped the hanging sign in his shop window from the “Sorry, we’re closed!” side to the “We’re open!” half. Sure, It was fun owning his own business, it was fun knowing all his employees on a personal level, it was just  _ fun,  _ but sometimes you just have those days where you don't feel so great. And today was one of those. He barely made it to the shop on time and 2 of his employees (or as he likes to call them, “kids”) were absent, so it was just him and Remy trekking on, dealing with every customer who thought they were better than them.

Each customer came by in a blur, nothing too memorable to share. Of course, there were the ones that seemed out of place. Like the girl wearing all pink with a Chihuahua in her purse buying a couple of small succulents that, too, fit in it, and the goth middle schooler that only came in to stick his tongue out at the brightly colored arrangements. Roman was pretty sure that kid skipped school just for that.

Time seemed to pass in fast mode until late in the afternoon, when he and Remy were getting unreasonably tired and just trying to snuff out the last few hours of their shifts. Remy had been taking inventory and organizing most of the day while Roman manned the cash register, which led to some mishaps an hour or two before closing. Remy miscounted how many carnations were in stock, so they both had to take a recount and fix the shelving accordingly. Roman accidentally gave a customer one too much change, freaked out for a minute, but luckily the customer was kind enough to go back and return the correct amount of change. That made his day a tiny bit better.

The next hour was just the cherry on top. Some time before closing, while Roman was keeping himself busy by playing on a rubix cube (don't ask how he got it), the familiar ringing of a bell signaling a customer drew him out of his focused daze. When he looked up he probably looked like the biggest fucking idiot with an apron on.

The guy looked about mid-to-late twenties, had dark brown hair that swooped to the back and prominent black glasses perched on his nose, much like his roommate Patton (we’ll get to that later). He walked in with a sort of awe in his expression, probably surprised as to why there were so many damn plants sitting in buckets, pots, tables, and shelves. He was one of the customers that just looked out of their element. Most plant-obsessed and decor-loving people didn't dress so plain and simple.

Roman set the unfinished puzzle cube next to the cash register and dusted himself off as if that’d make him look more clean. Why did he suddenly get more conscience of himself? Who knows.

“Need any help?” Roman asked in the overly-sweet but appeasing employee voice that weirdly works.

The man looked over at Roman a bit surprisingly and pushed up his glasses. “Uhm, yes. You don't happen to have roses — particularly red — do you?”

Roman stifled a laugh as he made his way around the counter. He saw through the back door for a split second seeing Remy laughing his head off. Roses? How could they not have roses, especially red? He tried really hard not to judge the guy for his absurd question. He’s cute, anyway; Roman couldn't judge him.

“Of course! They're right here on what I like to call the 'Rainbow Wall’, the name explains itself,” he explained as he showed off the wall to the customer. The wall was a full on gradient of the rainbow, starting with pink and ending in white. The flowers were organized in large black buckets and labeled according to what type they were. When Roman first started his business, he enlisted help in his then new roommates to organize the wall to look just how he needed. He had Virgil write the labels (and the big sign on top that literally said 'Rainbow wall’ with different doodles decorating it) and had Patton help with the placing and organization of the flowers.

Roman plucked out the rose for him and motioned for him to follow to the counter to ring him up. He wrapped the flower in clear plastic film before revealing the total to be $2.75.

“Your total is… $2.75,” he read off the monitor to him. The man handed him his card and Roman swiped it, pressed a few buttons on the register, and the card’s basic information appeared on his monitor. His name was even cute — 'Logan Santiago’. Roman could hear God laughing at him.

“So, who’s the lucky lady?” he asked sweetly like a Straight™ as he handed Logan back his card. His face heated up and his ears turned red, making Roman think he took the mandatory small talk a bit too far.

“Uh, actually, it’s for a guy,” he mumbled out hesitantly as Roman delicately bagged the rose. He raised his eyebrows in surprise — you don't meet a gay guy every day.

He snapped off the receipt from the register, placed it next to the flower and handed the bag to Logan. “Well, I hope he likes the rose as much as he likes you!” he exclaimed with a smile. Logan nodded and left with his rose in hand, humming to himself as he left.

Roman sighed dramatically once Logan had left the building. He was so! Unreasonably! Cute! but he was already taken and that's just not fair. All the cute gay guys are always dating someone other than him.

He waltzed over to the shop window holding the “We’re open!” sign and flipped it to the “Sorry, we’re closed!” half. Roman didn't care if it was too early. He was tired and gay and already felt himself falling for the guy he probably wouldn't see for another fifty years after he's retired and known as the resident crazy cat guy.

“Did you hear all of that conversation, Remy?”

“Yeah, I did! You're so falling for him already. What was he like? Probably not my type, huh?” Remy inquired as he entered into the main area where Roman was.

“Remy! He has a  _ boyfriend!  _ Plus, we can't just talk about customers like this,” Roman tried to shoo him off that subject, but it was true. Roman was an easy faller, and he falls  _ hard _ . He only believed in 'love at first sight’ because he was a heavy victim of it. He's had at least 5 crushes. At one time. On men and women. Why is he like this.

“Fine, fine, I'll stop and go home, but I won't stop bugging you about it for a week,” Remy said and grabbed his stuff from behind the counter. He waved at Roman before leaving, the bell chiming as he did.

Fuck. He really did fall hard.

 


	2. tbh I don't know but it gets gayer!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi this took a month to finish please forgive me

“God, I hate myself!” Roman yelled into the apartment as he flopped onto their couch, still wearing his soil-covered work clothes.

“Mood, but like what the fuck, Roman?” his roommate Virgil, who was sitting on the chair nearby, responded.

Virgil was one of Roman’s roommates, and by default, one of his best friends too. He was short, emo, and wore exclusively black and purple. His personality was 99% sarcasm and 1% real human qualities. Virgil was actually a super anxious person if you didn't know him well,  which Roman had learned the hard way when he tried introducing himself to him, prompting Virgil to burst into tears and run back into the apartment.

“I mean that I'm stupid for being me.”

“Still a mood, but actually being serious now; what’s up?”

Roman sighed before starting his tangent. “A cute guy came into the shop today and he was  _ super cute  _ and my heart went 'ah yes, that one. I like this one.’ but the universe hates me so it went 'oh, wait! He has a boyfriend.’ so that’s just fucking  _ great _ .”

“Mhmm. And how does that make you feel?” Virgil asked, like the stereotypical therapist and adjusted his position to look more like the character.

“Oh, shut up.” Roman rolled his eyes and threw the nearest pillow at him. “When’s Patton coming back? He’s better at this love shit then you are.”

Virgil shrugged and caught the pillow before it hit him. “Dunno. He’s probably still taking stock on how much pumpkin spice syrup they have left.”

“Ugh, I'm going to take a nap then. Yell in my ear when he's here.”

Roman, in fact, took a shower first before taking a nap in what he likes to call 'Depression Clothes™’, which is essentially comfy sweats he’s just never grown out of. Don’t question why, they're just comforting.

Time passed, obviously, and when he woke up it was a  _ lot  _ darker outside than a few hours ago. And there was no Virgil yelling in his ear. Goddamnit, V.

Roman rubbed his eyes sleepily and rolled over to face his alarm clock. The black and red ensemble displayed ‘9:30 p.m.’ in digital lettering. Despite the 3 hour long nap and his grogginess, he shuffled out of bed and into the living room, where both Virgil and Patton were sitting on the hand-me-down couch and talking. The click from his bedroom door caught the attention of both of them and the conversation they were just having abruptly stopped.

“Well, looks like Sleeping Beauty finally decided to wake up,” Virgil remarked first, resulting in Roman sticking his tongue out childishly as retaliation.

The aforementioned Sleeping Beauty™ stalked over to the couch and flopped down next to Patton, who was still looking as bright and cheerful as ever. Patton was his other roommate and best friend, and basically the opposite of Virgil. He was always in a somewhat happy and optimistic mood, had a few dad jokes on hand, and was practically their therapist friend. He gave the best advice and no matter what he could always cheer you up. Even his appearance was friendly and bright. He’s covered in freckles, wears Harry Potter-esque glasses, and has dimples when he smiles. He’s just a loveable ball of sunshine you couldn't hate.

“What’s up, bed head? You don't normally sleep for 3 hours,” Patton casually stated.

Roman shrugged. “Well, I’m sort of a mess right now-”

“Roman has a crush on a stranger!” Virgil blurted.

“VIRGIL!”

“Aha! You admit you do!” he said, snickering into the pillow he’d grabbed off the couch.

Roman sighed, exasperated. “I just yelled your name! It’s not a confession of _love!_ ” 

Patton’s eyes widened. “Love?”

“No, no!” Roman said. “I don’t love him. I don’t even have a crush on him, Virge.”

“Ok, sure, but if you saw how red your face was right now you’d think otherwise.”

Roman made a noise akin to a really stretched out “ugh” and hid his face in his hands. He didn't want to admit it, at least not this early when he's only caught about a 2-minute glimpse of the guy. Yes, he’s attractive. Yes, he seems like a nice guy. Yes, his glasses look cute on him. Yes, Roman is making way too many assumptions. And yes, the guy has a boyfriend, so there isn't even a chance at “love”. Ew, love.

“Aw, it’s okay, Roman. There’s always a chance he likes you too!” Patton reassured him. 

“Yeah, like a .001 percent chance.”

“Don’t be such a Debby Downer, Ro! The next time you see him, talk to him. That's really it when you want to know someone you have a crush on better.”

“I’ll probably never see him again, and I do _not_ have a crush on him!”

Patton laughed. “Suuuuure, Ro, you _definitely_ don't have a crush on him.”

Roman was wrong.

The next day, when the little bell rang a half hour before closing, he expected an in-a-rush customer that needed a bouquet quickly for their date in fifteen minutes. But of course, it was the heartthrob of the century — Logan Santiago.

Roman could feel his face heat up. This was so dumb. All of this was so dumb. He felt like he was back in high school crushing on the straightest boy in his class.

He took a deep breath before greeting him. “Hello again! What’re you looking for this time?”

“Oh! Uhm, you have red carnations, right? I noticed them when I was here last,” Logan said. 

“Of course we do! How much you need?”

“One, please.”

Roman nodded and swiftly picked a carnation out of the red side of the wall, looking it over to make sure there were no imperfections in the petals. He made it back to the register where Logan had already got his card ready. “Boyfriend again?” Logan nodded, seemingly distracted.

“He’s lucky to have someone like you,” Roman mumbled while registering the price, “not many people buy their partners a flower every day.”

Logan's face turned red. “Ha, yeah. It's nothing, really, I'm not even sure he likes them.”

“What? Are you sure?” Roman asked jokingly and took his card. “I'd be shocked if my boyfriend even gave me a petal—not that I have one, of course.”

Logan smiled and took back his card when Roman handed it back. The florist wrapped the flower carefully and put a bag around it, taking the receipt and placing it along with it.

“Have a good day, sir!” Roman said weirdly cheerfully to excuse him from the store.

Logan squinted to see his name tag. “You, too, uh, Roman!” he responded.

Roman grinned and waved to him as he exited. Once he left, he took a deep sigh and rested his chin on the counter.

This was going to be a long week.


	3. finally!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sobbing this took forever please like it

The daily appearance of Logan in Roman's shop was beginning to make him suspicious. Who comes into a shop every day to buy one flower for their boyfriend? It just seems illogical. There was definitely something else going on.

But he liked it, still. Seeing Logan everyday was the highlight of his week. He's gotten to know him better through the small talk they had at the register.

For instance, Logan's legally blind and has to wear glasses all the time or he just can't see. He also has a dog named Bromley, a labradoodle who is also a big asshole half the time. His favorite color is cobalt blue and he works as a programmer for an indie game company. Roman could listen to him talk about himself all day, but alas, Logan only stays in his little store for a few minutes at a time.

After another long day at the shop and a short conversation with Logan, Roman arrived home, took off his muddy self-chosen uniform and threw on a comfy sweater and sweatpants. Virgil and Patton weren't home yet, so Roman spent the rest of his day fixing payrolls and scrolling down his dash on Tumblr. When they came home, they were, of course, curious about him and Logan that day.

“So, any action yet?” Virgil asked as he entered the door. Patton punched him in the shoulder. Roman shot him the stink eye.

“Ok, ok, fine, he ask you out yet?”

“Of course not, Virgil! He's taken, why would he do that?” Roman said in response.

Virgil shrugged. “Well, to me, it seems like he's lying. If he's coming in everyday and telling you things about him, doesn't it seem like he's interested? Ok, hey, don’t look at me like that, he's probably just too shy to admit he likes you. Just ask him if he could go — say, to the mall or something — and see how it goes. Why do you both keep looking at me like that? I'm right!”

Roman just sat there. Patton sighed and looked down. “I mean, he's got a point,” he mumbled.

Roman went “UGH” and shook his head. “How am I supposed to do that? 'Hey! I was wondering if you would like to go to the mall with me on Saturday’?”

“Yeah, exactly!” Virgil nodded.

Roman squinted at Virgil jokingly and looked back to the TV, which he just now realized was a little too big for the stand. “Well, it couldn't hurt to ask.”

Patton clapped his hands in excitement and moved to sit down (and subsequently, hug) Roman. “Yay! I can't wait to see you kiddos together.”

Roman rolled his eyes, and Virgil followed Patton to the couch and sat down at the other end of the couch, stretching his feet over his lap and pulling out his phone. A few minutes later, the food Roman ordered arrived, and they ate their victory pizza while a cartoon played in the background.

The next day, Roman was feeling a mix of anxiety, excitement, and a pinch of regret. He was really going to ‘ask out’ Logan. There were so many things that could go wrong, and he spent the whole work day worrying about it. Even his employees seemed to notice something was off.

“Ro?” Talyn, his self-acclaimed inventory manager, said. “You feeling ok? You just dropped a whole box of peonies on your foot.”

Roman looked down at the fallen box on his foot. Now that he thought about it, his foot was beginning to ache. “Yeah! I'm fine, just worried about a…” Shit, how do you phrase that? “... a date tomorrow, because I totally have one.”

Talyn raised an eyebrow at him. “Ooookay.. hope it goes well, Ro, and hope you didn't just bruise your foot, either.”

“Mhmm,” Roman hummed as Talyn walked away, and re-picked up the box to take out front.

The day passed like sludge. Every minute felt like 45 hours and for each customer it felt like he was dealing with 25. And the worst part was that it was 10 minutes before closing, and Logan hadn't showed up yet. Why did he get so accustomed to him coming? To be fair, it made his bad days good again, so maybe he was just hoping for the light in the tunnel at this point.

Thankfully, all his prayers to gods he doesn't believe in were answered, and good ol’ Logan walked into the store.

Roman smiled. “Let me guess — red flower of some type?”

Logan looked in Roman's direction and his face flushed. “Uh, yeah. Daisy, this time.”

Roman plucked a red daisy off the wall and brought it over to the register, and Logan had already beat him there. While he wrapped the flower and and rung him up, the same thought went through his mind countless times. _Ask him out ask him out ask him out ask him out ask hi–_

“So I was wondering,” he suddenly said, taking Logan's card. “Would you like to go to the mall with me and my friends on Saturday? I mean, I get it if this sounds creepy but you just come in here everyday and I find it my duty to properly befriend you.”

_ Oh. My. God. You fucking. Idiot. _

Logan's eyes shifted to the side and his face flushed red — again. “Uh, I'll have to see if I'm open. Could I have your number? I'll text you when I know for sure.”

Roman handed him the bag. “Er, sure! Hold on,” he agreed and starting digging for a pack of post-it notes and a pen in the drawer behind the register. He quickly scribbled down his number in the most eligible handwriting he could and handed it to him.

“I appreciate you asking, by the way,” Logan quickly stated. “Not everyday a cute guy asks to hang out with you.” He winked.

_ Oh my fucking god he WINKED. _

_ But wait is this considered cheating??? He just called me cute???? Is Virgil right and he's just lying to justify his daily stop in???? Oh my God we watch too many conspiracy theory videos I'm just gonna accept this and hope things turn out. _

Roman chuckled and felt his face heat up. Stupid brain, making him think things. “Have a good day, Logan!”

“You too!”


End file.
